The strongest image I recalled from this film: A biscuit one of the fairies ate. It was fascinating to me for some reason, and while I don't think I have synesthesia, I have a strong association of what that thing tastes like.

!!!

Me too.

Omg! We should collaborate on a recipe for it, and make a website dedicated to Merriwether's Biscuit.

Indeed! Though, it could turn out we have very different ideas what the taste is.

I'm thinking some sort of brown-sugar cookie. Soft and just a little crumbly.

We definitely have different ideas. I imagine it as a cross between shortbread, nilla wafers and plain pie crust - puffy and slightly granular without much sugar, and the taste of plain cream.

I think yours would appeal to more people, though. I would happily eat bird suet if I didn't know that was really unhealthy._________________[Stripeypants has enabled lurk mode.]

The strongest image I recalled from this film: A biscuit one of the fairies ate. It was fascinating to me for some reason, and while I don't think I have synesthesia, I have a strong association of what that thing tastes like.

!!!

Me too.

Omg! We should collaborate on a recipe for it, and make a website dedicated to Merriwether's Biscuit.

Indeed! Though, it could turn out we have very different ideas what the taste is.

I'm thinking some sort of brown-sugar cookie. Soft and just a little crumbly.

We definitely have different ideas. I imagine it as a cross between shortbread, nilla wafers and plain pie crust - puffy and slightly granular without much sugar, and the taste of plain cream.

I think yours would appeal to more people, though. I would happily eat bird suet if I didn't know that was really unhealthy.

Actually, that still doesn't sound too far off from what I'm thinking. It's hard to describe flavors of something that isn't a thing yet. I'm actually thinking not too sweet either, but the sugar in it would be brown sugar, for just a hint of mellow molasses. I like the idea of the cream.

Rawr, get busy for a few days with work, and there's a pile of stuff waiting for my return. I'll cover a few snippets as I'm able ^.^

Ennis wrote:

You point out sexism in things and suddenly it's all "omg why don't you ever shut up about feminism" when it doesn't even make up a quarter of what you talk about, and the person doesn't actually have a topic in mind to discuss. So after weeks of that and dirty looks to shut you up before you even speak, you're afraid to say anything, but then THEY start provoking you and you get into hours long arguments, the whole time stating that you DON'T WANT TO DISCUSS THIS NOW because you're in class, or have assignments to do, but they don't want to let it go and you can't just cut it off then because they'll think they're right.

This part I've recognized sorely in my own delving into trans and female rights, and oddly enough, men's rights and human rights in general. In pretty much all cases, it gets treated the same; anyone who talks about it gets treated as if it's all you EVER talk about.

It'd be nice if you could honestly just leave the matter alone, if it wasn't needed to be discussed in the first place, but the fact that these kinds of social injustices exist at all kind of suggest you can't just ignore them, or pretend they don't exist.

Now admittedly, in a comic this gets stressed to a greater degree; Monique actually SEES the patriarchy physically surrounding her at all times. As such, I suppose she doesn't get the luxury of being able to forget about it for a few minutes here and there to relax and wind down; it's just a continually twisting and winding clock, gathering more and more tension until... what? She snaps like that same overwound clock?

Rune wrote:

Same. And I think her awakening will be very familiar to a lot of people who have gone through the same thing. You lose close relationships because people can't or won't change with you, or accept your change, and you can't change back. Benign exchanges start to include constant "light-hearted" ribbing, that all adds up to feel so dismissive. People who you trusted yourself with treat you like a joke, or a stereotype, rather than a whole person that this thing matters to for good reason. You have to spend your personal social capital very, very, very carefully, and the costs are steep.

I saw one of those cases firsthand, and it wasn't pretty. It's one of those feelings of guilt that never goes away, years later, to think back on it and realize I could have done a lot more than I did at the time, and fear stayed my hand in a matter it should not have.

Essentially, one of the instructors at the college was TRYING to be inclusive of the one visible female in his class, a la Slick-style "trying". Completely inept, but trying his best to be good natured about it.

This largely involved saying "you guys" to the group, but then pausing, realizing his mistake, and adding on "an girl" at the end of pretty much every sentence. One of the classes this ended up happening probably 50 times in about 3 hours, until the person he'd kept singling out every moment got fed up with it and left in tears because she couldn't handle it anymore.

The thing was, I realized at the time why she'd been so upset, and I realized as well why the instructor was confused, because he honestly didn't realize he'd been acting like a jerk about it as could be seen from his body movement, mannerisms and tone of voice. That or he was the best damn actor in the world, which he really obviously wasn't at any other time.

I should have spoken up at the time, and pointed out what had gone wrong. At the time, I hadn't come out on the being trans thing yet so... I was terrified that speaking out would be the tipping point that would announce such, that I'd just be the next one in the line of fire, or criticized for doing so. It's something that I'll probably never let myself live down, and something I won't let myself forget, lest I repeat it.

Sure, I consoled her after the fact, but even that I could have done more for her then.

The whole thing about "all that's required for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing" is true, in a way, even if the very statement is sexist in nature, as it implies only men can enact change. Social injustice exists because people get scared to be the ones to rock the boat, or fearful that they'll be next on the chopping block; without someone to stand up and decry the injustice when it occurs, nothing is done about it, and no change can occur.

In Monique's case, I'm understanding through this very discussion on the topic that she's in a similar stance, but also presented with far more comically exaggerated examples on a regular basis. I'd like to see Tat do something more with her, either give her some more screen time to express herself outside of that singular aspect, or use it to showcase the burnout she's suffering from better, but it's become less of a point, now.

In a way... she really has lost part of herself to the patriarchy, and she isn't as potent in personality any longer, because it's been systematically robbed from her via unrelenting pressure of always being trapped in a physical cage which exists as a permanent structure in her life, now.

She's depressed and oppressed, and it doesn't honestly seem to be lightening up on the load any. She could use a good dose of talking to Nana to regain her place in the world. Perhaps it's planned for the future? I'd like to hope so; I'd rather not see 'nique trapped this way forever, but to actually be able to bring her fierce force of personality back into the fray again, rather than being on the doorstep of being worn down and defeated.

I dunno, I guess at this point I just want the lead up to this cease, and have something happen; either have her break down, or rise back up; anything other than quietly endure it in a downward slide.

Yeeeeep... hell, look at Twilight or 50 shades of grey, they're pretty much showcases of this kind of stuff.

Or even listen to the radio; it amazes me just how horrible many of the lyrics are to "classic" songs. Almost all of the big hits are sappy love songs in one way or another, except that they're also almost purely sexist as well.

How many songs are there about a guy not wanting to break up or refusing to? (Boys of summer comes immediately to mind)

How many songs are there just glorifying a woman's body and being in "love" with her despite knowing zero about her other than she's pretty? (Pretty lady's the most obvious)

If anything, I kind of liked Assemblage 23's "Let me be your armor" because it showcased the slow and gradual decline into being a stalker, being consciously aware of what it was doing, starting off with letting the listener begin with agreeing, and then segueing into a position where they may realize that perhaps their acceptance may not have been the wisest of choices, and that it's not that adorable and sweet of a love story after all.

Samsally wrote:

I recently watched The Swan Princess movie because apparently I'm that person that watches old-ass movies in her free time just to get angry about shit. With that in mind I'm about to completely spoil a cartoon movie that was made in 1994 so if you get mad at me you only have yourself to blame.

Thanks for pointing out that one; I don't mind the spoilers, as I have no interest in watching it, especially after that commentary.

It's amazing how stereotypical and standard that is, though - I'm surprised they even started out on the right foot at all!

Most of the Disney princesses style movies end up the same way... the princess does fuck all, and it's only because she's beautiful, or a princess, or otherwise was randomly born a certain way that she has any hope of salvation. It's always other people doing stuff for her, rather than her doing anything on her own that matters.

Even the more modern remakes still cause a lot of problems like that... Snow White and the Huntsman is a lot better than most, but it still eventually ends up relying on Snow White being born with a gift and being a princess for her to do anything; if she were a "normal" looking commoner, no one would have helped her, no one would have listened to her, and certainly no one would have gone to war for her. In contrast, the huntsman is just some random ass drunk.

It kinda stresses the point about how men are expected to make a name for themselves from nothing, while women are just "born that way", and if you're not born into being perfect as a woman, you're kinda screwed.

Anyway, this post is getting reaaaaaaally long... and I know I promised to try to cut back on such so I'll stop here and get to the rest of the replies later =P

There's just some really good points that are being made is all, and there's too many awesome ones to go through and even this number had to be cherry-picked due to post length ^.^

The strongest image I recalled from this film: A biscuit one of the fairies ate. It was fascinating to me for some reason, and while I don't think I have synesthesia, I have a strong association of what that thing tastes like.

!!!

Me too.

Omg! We should collaborate on a recipe for it, and make a website dedicated to Merriwether's Biscuit.

Indeed! Though, it could turn out we have very different ideas what the taste is.

I'm thinking some sort of brown-sugar cookie. Soft and just a little crumbly.

We definitely have different ideas. I imagine it as a cross between shortbread, nilla wafers and plain pie crust - puffy and slightly granular without much sugar, and the taste of plain cream.

I think yours would appeal to more people, though. I would happily eat bird suet if I didn't know that was really unhealthy.

Actually, that still doesn't sound too far off from what I'm thinking. It's hard to describe flavors of something that isn't a thing yet. I'm actually thinking not too sweet either, but the sugar in it would be brown sugar, for just a hint of mellow molasses. I like the idea of the cream.

That sounds good. Actual molasses would be too much and make it too dark. I think a little rose flavor as well, because that leds a creamlike, crisp and slight fruity taste._________________[Stripeypants has enabled lurk mode.]

Soon! I'm debating trying it for tonight, but I think I need to take a break from experimenting on my gaming group. Still very disappointed in the flavorless lemon pies I made. _________________[Stripeypants has enabled lurk mode.]

Oh, also, in the movie the cookies are broadly considered to be a "hidden mickey" with head and two ears, but it's ambiguous, and I think they should be three equal-sized circles, with a celtic triple-spiral pressed into them if you're feeling fancy.

I always feel fancy._________________"Worse comes to worst, my people come first, but my tribe lives on every country on earth. Iíll do anything to protect them from hurt, the human race is what I serve." - Baba Brinkman

Oh, also, in the movie the cookies are broadly considered to be a "hidden mickey" with head and two ears, but it's ambiguous, and I think they should be three equal-sized circles, with a celtic triple-spiral pressed into them if you're feeling fancy.

I think a stylized three leaf clover or club-shaped cookie cutter could work, if the little tails were taken off.

I love the celtic spiral idea! I find celtic spirals easy to draw, but I haven't tried with frosting. Woefully, I lack frosting tips! But if I get ahold of some gel squeezy frosting, I will totally decorate them that way!

These will be best cookies. Hopefully. Maybe. If not, I'll put sprinkles on them, which is always awesome._________________[Stripeypants has enabled lurk mode.]

Oh, also, in the movie the cookies are broadly considered to be a "hidden mickey" with head and two ears, but it's ambiguous, and I think they should be three equal-sized circles, with a celtic triple-spiral pressed into them if you're feeling fancy.

I think a stylized three leaf clover or club-shaped cookie cutter could work, if the little tails were taken off.

I love the celtic spiral idea! I find celtic spirals easy to draw, but I haven't tried with frosting. Woefully, I lack frosting tips! But if I get ahold of some gel squeezy frosting, I will totally decorate them that way!

These will be best cookies. Hopefully. Maybe. If not, I'll put sprinkles on them, which is always awesome.

I'm gonna have to try my hand, too, but alas, the only cookies I've had time for lately are no-bakes. Which are AWESOME, but are still not awesome fairy cookies.

Lately I've just been experimenting with gluten free - and getting awesome results. Made some pumpkin drop cookies that were just the right kind of moist...a little too moist, as they melted the sprinkles while in a storage container.

I'm thinking this would be good for a knitting/craft/whatever party, because at least one of the people I will be inviting for it is a huge Disney fan and also a foodie. I'll probably be making them gluten free, but it's pretty easy for me to convert gluten free recipes into gluteny recipes. (Though rice flour makes some really tasty, tasty things.)_________________[Stripeypants has enabled lurk mode.]